Potato market chronicle November 2016

Harvesting and field work were completed under optimal conditions
conditions throughout the North. And here we are in a calm market with prices of a firmness rarely seen at the same time of year.
Any variety with a dry matter suitable for industry is the prey of industrialists, who are gradually capturing most of the lots… leaving Northern traders, supplying the fresh market, often on the verge of running out of stock at the end of the day.

Autumn too mild for the market

Faced with an excessively mild autumn, the fresh produce market is struggling to catch its breath. Volumes are stagnating. In a market that is not very keen on supply, very firm, and too long poorly supplied due to complicated grubbing-up, consumption of fresh potatoes is falling back. On the export market, Spain still finds, depending on the location, domestic products delivered at a lower price than our ex-factory prices! Only premium batches of Monalisa, Agata and Melody are charging. But beware of internal strikes and disputes! Germany supplies Italy at lower prices. Polish potatoes, despite “phytosanitary barriers” and varieties that are often unknown in the West, remain very attractively priced.

Better prices for the second half of the market season?

Agata are virtually unavailable, except at prices that are impractical for the time being. Nor are firm meats. Given yields, farmers are hoping for better prices in the second half of the season. In this context, nothing is written for the rest of the campaign. Beware of overconfidence!